


We Could've Had It All

by elhardo



Category: The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Cannon Divergence, F/M, Fluff, Relationship Development, implied smut i guess??
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2018-07-10
Packaged: 2019-06-08 09:56:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 9,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15240873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elhardo/pseuds/elhardo
Summary: What if the Prophecy of the Seven had never happened? If Percy and Jason had never swapped places? If Hera hadn't been meddling? What if Piper had never come along into Jason's life? Reyna's camp is slowly starting to fall to bits. She's missing Jason terribly and Octavian is...just being Octavian. Gaia is slowing invading minds, Reyna's included...Back at Camp Half-Blood, where war preparations have taken priority, Jason worries. He's heard word that Reyna is in an impenetrable sleep, deepening with each passing day...Will Jason be able to reach Reyna before she is lost forever?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> og posted this on wattpad, but decided to share it here too  
> enjoy:))

Tensions were running high in Camp Jupiter, but none were running higher than that of the Camp's only Praetor, Reyna – there had been two Praetors, but he was currently helping Camp Jupiter's Greek sister camp, who was in far deeper with the war on Gaia.   
The whole of the usually pristinely organized Camp was threatening disarray, as Octavian breathed more and more heavily down Reyna's neck. And with disarray comes chinks in the armour – minds were becoming more susceptible to Gaia's control and influence. But Reyna didn't have time to worry about that, with the imminent threat of war, what would happen to her when she tried to warn Jason at Camp Half-Blood, and just thoughts of Jason in general. Thoughts of why hadn't he come back, or tired to communicate with her more – even of him spending time with Piper McLean, the daughter of Aphrodite. Although she tried to avoid thinking about her as much as possible, she still found her mind wandering to why he was with her, when their whole relationship was founded on a dream put into Piper's head by Juno. But she, Reyna, however, had spent real time with Jason – they had been close; the two shared many an inside joke, their queries and nightmares, traded stories of their past and siblings, all of their secrets, their hearts' desires.   
It was as she lay in bed, looking out of the window at Jason's empty twin villa that she reflected on this bitterness. The daughter of Bellona liked Piper, she was nice enough, but why did Piper get to be with Jason and Reyna didn't? Jason and Reyna used to communicate in Morse Code after lights out by flashing torchlight. Said torch was sat on her nightstand, gathering dust ever since Jason had been snatched from her.  
Sighing, Reyna closed her eyes, mind still full of those bitter thoughts, and how life could have been if the gods had just left well enough alone. No sooner had this though sprung from her mind that a presence descended upon her.   
"Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano."  
Gaia – Reyna instantly knew the Earth Mother's sleepy voice. Unable to move, to even open her eyes, Gaia's inviting voice continued to wash over her; "My dear, I could grant your wish. I could show you a life without the interference of the gods, a life without the gods at all. There is no need for this bitterness in your young heart. Unbottle all of your emotions and reach your full potential!" The Earth Mother's voice seemed to caress Reyna with her next words, "I will show you a life without the gods, my dear – the life I could grant you. The life you deserve."

The scene to which Reyna awoke was like it hadcome straight out of a film – the birds were singing in tune with each other,the sun was shining in such a way that the whole valley of New Rome wasglimmering gold, even the pavilion had been touched by the sun's rays. She satup and stretched, full of an unwavering sense of peace, no recollection of theEarth Mother's words to her the night before.   
Gracefully egressing the bed, Reyna looked around her room; her room was astidy and straight as ever, save for the pictures above her dressing table ofher sister, her old cohort, her and Jason on the day of their victory party overthe Titans at Mount Othryrs. There were some scattered scrolls on her desk –Reyna hadn't realised she was looking for something in these scrolls when shedidn't find anything out of the known ordinary as she inspected them. Shruggingto herself, Reyna almost skipped out of her villa and to the pavilion until shecorrected herself with the thought 'that's not very Roman of you'.  
She must have woken late, as the dinning pavilion was already quite full whenshe entered. Reyna loved how theRomans dinned. They put aside all of the regulations and plans, it was nice tosit back and relax for an hour or two. She found her usual place at the head ofthe pavilion, nodding and smiling to her fellow Romans as she passed them.  
"You got up late,"   
Reyna stopped and stared at the speaker. She felt as if she hadn't seen Jasonin a while, despite that not making sense. Slightly confused, Reyna threwherself at him in a hug. Obviously taken a back by the force of his fellowPraetor's hug, Jason waited a second before embracing her back, just astightly. "What's up with you, soldier? Rising late then trying to wind me witha hug," He gave her a confused look before smiling and patting the seat next tohim. She took the place he indicated and frowned to herself, "Seriously, Rey,are you alright?" His electric blue eyes were full of earnest. "I don't know –I had the curious sensation that I hadn't seen you in quite a while... Likesomething isn't quite right" she shook her head and started reaching for herbreakfast plate. She felt Jason give her an uneasy look before he shook hishead, saying, "You work too hard, Rey," before the two eased into usual conversation.


	2. Chapter 2

The day was spent on camp maintenance, keeping Reyna busy until lights out – she had spent lunch and dinner in the Praetor's office, trying to find something that would give her closure. It was like her brain was itching - she still had the feeling that something major should be happening, even though there was no evidence of anything out of the ordinary.   
She had just flopped into bed, her mind still on what could be the meaning behind this brain itch. Deep in thougt Reyna's eye caught a flash of light coming from the window in Jason's villa. Scrambling for her own torch, Reyna watched keenly, translating Jason's various flashes and pauses.   
Meet—me—at—the—gates—to—New—Rome. Need—to—talk. Emergency.   
She started flashing back her reply (Now?) but she couldn't make out Jason's outline. Suddenly on edge – Jason had never asked to meet her after lights out in such an urgent tone of Morse Code (if there were such a thing). Not bothering to change out of her teddy bear pyjamas, Reyna slipped on some shoes and hurried to the New Rome settlement, careful to avoid the grumpy Terminus.   
"Jason?" She hissed into the semi-darkness. Although she knew that she was perfectly safe inside of Camp Jupiter and New Rome's boundaries, Reyna was very aware of herself without a weapon. Slightly on edge, Reyna felt someone else who she knew must be Jason, but it didn't stop her from starting when he grabbed her shoulders and whispered, "Boo!" She shot him a glare before asking, "What did you want to meet so urgently for? What's wrong?"   
"Follow me," He grabbed her hand and jogged into the city. Utterly bewildered, Reyna was even more confused when they reach the New Rome cinema. Picking up on her confusion, Jason's eyes glittered with excitement. "They're having a midnight madness, showing all of the Renaissance Disney films," His eyes flashed with child-like delight, and Reyna felt her own glitter. She was always being the perfect Roman, always together and mature; she had also not had the most stable childhood, and films with simple plots and likeable characters fed her escapism. Renaissance Disney also meant the showing of Disney's Hercules, which was something of a running joke between the two Praetors. When the two had first been appointed heads of Camp, it had been slightly awkward, as they hadn't formed a new routine and were sizing each other up almost. It was when Jason proposed that they watch a film, get to know each other and just chill that they watched the horrific 'adaptation' that their steeliness lifted and banter ensued. Their constant critiquing of the historical inaccuracies brought them closer and it became their favourite film and private joke.   
Jason put his hand gently on the small of Reyna's back as they walked into the cinema together – a surge of electricity came over Reyna, and she was sure it had nothing to do with Jason's father. Being a perfect gentleman, Jason also bought some popcorn and drinks, despite Reyna's objections. But it felt kind of good to be looked after, instead of her having to do the looking after.   
Subconsciously, the two were touching throughout the film, albeit just the side of their pinky fingers, but the electricity Reyna had felt when Jason had touched her back had not gone away. She giggled and sniffed throughout the film, thanks to her companion's comments, which wasn't very Roman of her, but she didn't care in that moment. For the duration of the film, it was like she could convince herself that she wasn't a Camp Praetor of New Rome, she wasn't a demi-god with an unstable past – she could believe that she was just a mortal 17 year old, out with a boy she liked, that maybe liked her back?

"Like a shooting star, I will go the distance! I will search the world, I will face its harms!" Jason was prancing and singing at the top of his lungs. Reyna couldn't stop herself from laughing. "I promise to find my welcome, waiting in Heav'n's arms,"   
Laughing even harder, Reyna gasped, "Oh no no no, Jason! Treason against Disney!" She laughed again as Jason smirked, "Oh high and mighty Reyna, to what offence do you call treason?"  
Letting out a full on giggle – most unlike Reyna – she rightened herself, clearing her throat before continuing, "You know fully well, Jason Grace! And I won't sing it for you, so don't think I will," Jason pouted and laughed, taking her hands in his and spinning her around, "Come on, Rey – just for me. At least remind me of the words," She sighed and smiled, clearing her throat again – "I don't care how far, I can go the distance; 'Til I find my hero's welcome, waiting in your arms," She didn't exactly sing, but the melodic tone to her voice made Jason smile. He gazed at her for a second and she felt a bit embarrassed and blushed when Jason lowered his voice to say, "I love it when you sing Rey," Not really knowing what to do with this compliment, the two looked a each other for a second before Reyna linked her hand with his and she felt the pleasant course of electricity run through her once more.   
Walking back to their villas in comfortable near-silence, save for Jason's consistent humming of 'Go the distance', Reyna thought aloud when she whispered, "You make me feel safe."  
Jason stopped humming and looked at her, a smile in his eyes. "You make me feel safe, too." The two regarded each other as if they were the only two people in the universe, despite being back on Camp grounds. Simultaneously, the two lent in and embraced passionately, Jason's hand cupped gently around her neck, Reyna's own hands snaking around Jason. The subtle electric current exploded inside of her when their lips touched, but she didn't care if it killed her – she felt alive. The two just seemed to meld together, and they were only kissing.  
After what felt like an eternity, the two broke apart, and smiled. "I-er – it's an early start tomorrow so we better-"  
"Yeah, we better go our separate ways," Jason smiled sheepishly, looking a little disappointed. Reyna felt a twinge of disappointment that their kiss couldn't have turned into something more. But she shook her head and smiled at Jason, saying, "Goodnight," before rushing to her villa, breathless and full os disbelieving that she had just snogged Jason Grace.


	3. Chapter 3

Reyna awoke the next morning bright-eyed and raring to go. Forcing herself to calm down, the Praetor of Camp Jupiter got dressed and walked down to the dining pavilion, eager to see Jason, but trying not to show it. Then the thought strook her as to how Jason would act towards her when they saw each other – was the kiss a fluke, a heat of the moment type thing? It certainly hadn't felt that way, but Reyna didn't know how Jason felt, even if she did know him better than she knew herself.

But she didn't have to wait long, as the son of Jupiter caught her eye and motioned that she come and sit next to him. Not wanting to be rude, she took up his offer and sat down slowly next to him. "Hi," he said.   
"Hi," she replied, a little awkwardly.   
Jason started to speak, but , son of Venus, came up to the two of them and spoke first. "I hope you guys are talking about the Hallowe'en party – we need to run the final décor plans past you guys!"   
Utterly confused, Reyna laughed gently, "Pardon?"  
Michael rolled his eyes, "Don't tell me you've forgotten, Reyna! We've been planning this for weeks!"  
"When did this happen?" She lowered her voice to Jason. He found her hand under the table and squeezed it – sending butterflies to burst throughout her stomach – before he replied, in an equally low voice, "You seriously don't remember?" Reyna looked at him blankly, the feeling that something was off was back, but she couldn't concentrate on an off feeling when campers had been planning a Hallowe'en party. "Well, some guys proposed a Hallowe'en party, as it was traditionally a way to ward off evil and the guys argued that we could always do with warding off evil-"  
"Wait – what evil?" She was suddenly more aware of her off feeling.  
Giving her a peculiar look, Jason continued, "Er, you know – evil. But we seem to be under a blessing from the gods," he smiled up at the heavens. "Anyway, you okayed it a couple of weeks back and plans have been underway ever since,"

Michael narrowed his eyes at the too and fro between the Praetors. "We're still having this party, right?"  
"Er, I guess so, yeah," She slowly nodded her head thinking It's only a party.   
Michael flashed his brilliant smile and he spent the rest of the breakfast hour talking over party plans for the 31st.

The day was quite productive – Reyna spent the day planning war games for the following day. She was watching the leaves turn orange in the crisp air when there was a knock at her door. "Hey, Jacob," She gave him a small smile feeling a little deflated that it wasn't Jason that had come to call. "Aren't you on duty?"  
The small boy shook his head slightly, "I-er, I'm just dropping this off for you," He dropped a piece of folded paper on her desk and bowed out of the room.  
Frowning slightly at the unorthodox meeting with Jacob, Reyna snatched up the note and unfolded it, greeted by a familiar [stocky] script: 

 

Rey-

Meet me at Temple Hill, midnight 

-J

Unable to help the small smile that adorned her face at Jason's note, Reyna subconsciously clutched the note to her chest.

It was quarter to twelve in the evening and the Praetor was stood, hands on hips, regarding herself in the mirror. Reyna didn't usually spend time critiquing her appearance in the mirror, aside from to make sure her appearance was tidy and in order – she had to set an example for her campers. But tonight, she had been careful to pick out matching underwear, a clean T-shirt and pair of grey shorts, fingering her soft black plait and wondering why she suddenly put deliberation into her appearance for a meeting with Jason. Not wanting her mind to wander, or to keep the son of Jupiter waiting, Reyna needlessly brushed herself off and set off for Temple Hill.

Golden hair caught in the dimming lights of New Rome, Jason turned and smiled as Reyna approached. "Bang on midnight - your punctuality is downright sexy," He grinned, hands in his pockets as Reyna raised her eyebrows and beat back a blush. "Aw, Rey, what happened to your pyjamas?"   
She rolled her eyes, smiling slightly as she interrupted Jason's smirk, "Why did you want to meet, again after lights out? We're not setting a very good Praeortal example, are we?"   
Returning her smile with a shrug, Jason said, "We're too busy during the day to actually talk to each other properly during the day, especially with war games on the horizon,"  
"Which I hope you've been suitably preparing to be crushed in tomorrow," Reyna crossed her arms over her chest, smirking. She had been planning this month's war games since ten minutes after last month's games had finished. "Anyway, what are we out for, aside from 'to talk properly'," It came out in a heavily snide way, which she didn't mean to be. But she and Jason had been friends long enough for him to know not to take her tone to heart. Holding out his hand, Jason just said, "Walk with me," Taking note that there was no one around, Reyna took Jason's hand and allowed herself to relax a little.   
It was easy to talk to Jason, and the two were chattering endlessly, wandering without a destination in mind, the two came to a stop at the Garden of Bacchus, her favourite spot in Camp Jupiter. When they had first arrived at Camp, the two used to sneak out to the garden and meditate in there or sit and talk.  
Their conversation had reached a natural lull and Reyna was avoiding looking at Jason, but she could feel him looking at her. "Are you okay, Reyna?"   
She nodded, but his gaze was unwavering and she found herself murmuring, "We haven't been alone together since the midnight madness," There was a moment of silence before Jason chuckled softly and hugged her close. "We did leave a bit of unfinished business, didn't we?"   
Before the two could comprehend what was happening, the two's lips had found each other's and it was just like the night of the midnight madness, a spark was glowing inside of her, and soon the two were entwined together as one. After a lifetime, the two broke apart, if only it was a couple of centimeters, a little breathless. In mutual agreement, they flew back to Jason's villa and has resumed their embrace on Jason's bed. Where their kisses by the Garden were gentle, their kisses in the villa were feverish as years of bottled up emotions were uncorked and bled out. Jason's shirt had found itself on the floor, and now so had Reyna's. Their legs tangled together, the two took each other in: Jason was toned and warm to her touch, his hair a little disheveled from her finger's running through it; Reyna was as equally toned, and her plait had come undone, her hair encompassing them both – Jason was looking at her in respectful awe and she wrapped her legs around him tighter as he placed gentle kisses up her arm and neck. She nuzzled his neck and inhaled; he smelt of agitation in the air before a storm, the crisp, refreshing winds of autumn and slightly of leather. Bringing her lips up to meet his, she nibbled his lower lip, where his scar from trying to eat a stapler resided. Sighing softly, she found her hands fingering the waistline of Jason's jeans, Jason's own hands running gently up and down her legs, and he let out a shiver of desire as her hands slipped under the waistline and felt him deeply groan, slightly.

And soon it was just small pieces of cloth between the two from becoming one, their embrace becoming more and more desirous and heated by the second. Soft moans and sighs escaped their mouths as the two became one. The spark in Reyna's chest was kindled with every kiss and touch, until it exploded in a shower of delight.


	4. Chapter 4

"How long has her nose been bleeding? I swear it wasn't bleeding last time I was here,"   
Jacob took a damp cloth and wiped at his Praetor's nose and chin. "She's been asleep for three days now, Bobby. She's getting worse." He turned to face Bobby directly over Reyna's sleeping form. "I think we should let Jason know,"  
"But we can't let Octavian know that Reyna is... not all here at the moment. Otherwise he'll seize the Camp and do something humongously stupid,"  
The two Roman campers looked at each other, worried before agreeing to Iris message Jason at Camp Jupiter's Greek sister camp, Camp Half-Blood.   
While Bobby went to distract Octavian, alternatively make sure the Apollo legacy stayed distracted, Jacob went to go and Iris message Jason at the fountain. The young camper hadn't been expecting much, since communications with the gods had been down in this time of pre-war agitation, but the goddess seemed to sense his desperation and the importance behind this message as a tall girl in an orange t-shirt said, rather testily, "Yeah?"  
"Er, erm, is Jason Grace there?" The girl narrowed her eyes at Jacob before looking to her left and saying, "Hold on a sec," and disappearing out of the rainbow's frame. The son of Jupiter appeared, smiling at Jacob, "Hey, Jake, what's up?"   
"Well, we don't really know, it's just that Reyna's been in a sort of coma for three days, and she has these sporadic heavy nosebleeds and mumbles violently and Octavian is trying to undermine Reyna, even though he doesn't know that she's in a coma, and it's getting more difficult to keep it from him and without a coherent Praetor, Camp is just getting more and more chaotic and of course Octavian is thriving in it and-"  
"Clovis! CLOVIS!" Jason had looked increasingly worried the more Jacob had talked before he interrupted him. "He's head of the Hypnos cabin, son of the god himself – if anyone's able to help us, he will A sleepy, baby cow looking boy ambled into Jacob's field of vision of CHB. "Jacob, listen:" Jason turned to the milky-blonde haired boy, Clovis, "Clovis, have you heard of something like this?" He picked out the key points of Jacob's ramble. The boy looked like he had fallen asleep standing up, but opened his lidded eyes. It took him a hot minute to nod clumsily. "From what I know, it sounds like a powerful being trapped her in a dream world. Persons in this situation are really difficult to wake up, especially if they've been under for over forty eight hours" The boy paused before slightly cocking his head and looking at Jacob through the rainbow, "Why do you ask?"  
"A powerful being?" Jacob echoed as his mind whirred in thought, "Could that mean Gaia?" A worried look registered across Jason's face and gave Clovis a penetrating stare, the boy seemed to wake up a little more at being on the receiving end of Jason's harsh stare, "What can we do to help? Even if it isn't Gaia that has trapped Reyna in her sleep, we have to wake Reyna up," The desperation in his voice was evident. There were two minutes of miserable silence before the Clovis boy piped up again, "Well, I don't want to get anyone's hopes up," Jason's eyes brightened and he edged closer to Clovis, "Er, well, if someone significant, or important, to Reyna were to astral project – dream travel, that is – into her dream world, they could wake her up."   
"Great! We'll go and do that; Clovis, if you would just-" 

Jacob glanced at the son of Hypnos and the bud of hope for his Praetor that had been growing suddenly wilted at the sad look on Clovis's face. "Hang on, Jason," Jason looked at Clovis and he, too, seemed to wilt. "It's just that – well, say if I put you to sleep and astral projected you into Reyna's dream world, you could also get trapped there. Or even if you don't get trapped and come out of the sleep physically unharmed, you could still sustain some mental injuries, like to your sanity..." The weight of Clovis's words hung between the three of them. But Jason seemed to have been hit by a hundred ton weight when Clovis added, "A-and also, if I'm correct, and you're correct in assuming it is the Earth Mother that we're dealing with, then this Reyna will need to be woken up b-before midnight on All Hallows Eve or she'll be lost to us forever."


	5. Chapter 5

It was another blissfully awakening for Reyna (fully unaware of any antics going on back in the real CJ and CHB) as she opened her eyes to the morning, she felt fully enlightened to the world as she lay in Jason's arms. She felt that her uneasy feeling had evaporated – she felt that she could never feel unhappy again, if she could stay in Jason's arms, in Jason's bed. She closed her eyes again, smiling to herself when her bed buddy stirred, his musky scent filling her nose and husky voice filling her ears as he breathed, "Good morning, beautiful," She rolled over to face him, returning his goofy smile and they gazed at each other for a few minutes before Reyna forced herself to remember her duties to her Camp. "We should probably get up and get ready for breakfast. People will talk if we're not there," Jason's face took on a coy demeanor and he slipped an arm under Reyna and pulled her closer, "But I don't want to move, just lie here and bask in your beauty," His tone was mocking, but his eyes were serious; Reyna felt a blush rise. "I do, too but it's not-" 

"Not very Roman of us to disregard breakfast," Jason joked, tucking a piece of Reyna's hair behind her ear. She rolled her eyes and smiled, planting a kiss on Jason's cheek before she slipped from between the covers and found her underwear on Jason's clothes ridden floor. "That's not what I was going to say, exactly." She grinned as she felt his gaze on her and consequently allowed herself to take her time getting ready, before leaning down to the still bed ridden Jason, kissing him with the aim to get down to breakfast. He caught her wrist, "Wait for me – we can go down to breakfast together," She gave him a quizzical look before he conferred, "Well, they're going to find out about us soon enough, and you know what the Camp's like – it'll be worse the longer and harder we try to keep us quiet." Us? She couldn't help but beam; "You look radiant when you smile, Rey," She flung his clothes at him before finger-combing her hair and beginning to tie it back in her practical plait.

Walking into the dining pavilion holding hands with her boyfriend, Jason Grace, felt fantastic. Loads of people applauded, or even whispered "Finally!" under their breath as the two walked past, hands entwined; Reyna couldn't help feeling the same. She had harboured feelings for Jason for a while now, and it felt so good for something to go her way for once. A lot of things had been going Reyna's way, even the usual pest that is Octavian seemed to have calmed down. In fact, she didn't even remember the last time that she had seen the Apollo legacy. The fact that so many things were going her way would ordinarily made Reyna feel uneasy. But she was not allowing anything to ruin her mood now – she was probably just overthinking, anyway. All thoughts of uneasiness and otherwise were swept from her mind when Jason gave the morning's announcements. "The month's war games are upon us! As you have all been informed, instead of inter-Cohort, we shall be chariot racing in two teams, then racing to the Camp Jupiter flag," excited chatter broke out but diminished as Jason spoke again, "I shall lead one team – Team Grace, and Reyna, the other – Team Ramírez-Arellano. The team lists have been put up in the Common. I look forward to doing battle with you all!" He grinned and dismissed the campers and chatter broke out forthwith. 

Having collected their teams, Reyna and Jason nodded to each other from opposite ends of the Field of Mars. This month's games was to be a chariot relay around the grounds, and Reyna was intent on not breaking her winning streak; she and Jason may now be official, but that didn't mean that she was going to downplay on war games. 

 

With the sound of the starting horn, Reyna mounted her chariot, feeling fully confident in her team – it seemed like her team was leading, but only just. Then Marc, son of Vulcan, released a ball of fire from his javelin and Kia, Reyna's team's driver for this circuit, had barely ducked in time – Reyna could hear the hiss as the fire grazed her clothes and hair. But it didn't matter, they were close to where Reyna and Jason, plus their charioteers, the anchors of the race. Every muscle seemed to be quivering with anticipation and adrenaline as Kia got closer and closer to the change-over point, Reyna screamed "Go!" at her charioteer and began pushing the chariot before leaping into the chariot and urging the thing to move faster. She looked through the stock for her chariot and picked up a trident and net, the weapons of a Retiarius, taking stance as Jason's chariot approached. The son of Zeus was dawning the only weapon of a Velitus, but Reyna knew how good he was with a spear and twirled her trident menacingly. "Don't be shy now, Jason," She said in her most girlish voice. He smirked at her and feigned jabbing her left before bringing the spear down on her less defended left side. A less competent soldier would have been caught out by this tactic, but Reyna knew better and brought her trident up to meet him; the clash of metal was deafening, Reyna's charioteer winced but continued to urge the horses on.

The finishing line was in sight now, but Jason and Reyna were still locked in one-on-one battle. It seemed a vicious fight, but the two were almost smiling – they were perfect opponents, unmatched by any other in Camp Jupiter. Unleashing her net on Jason's chariot, she just missed Jason. Wielding her trident more fiercely, Reyna's weapon was caught in the net Jason threw back at her. The chariots were now wheel to wheel and with fifty metres from the finish line, Reyna took a risk and put her trident against Jason's chest and pushed off from him, adding a little extra momentum meant that her chariot crossed the line a fraction of a second before Jason's. This gave her a little advantage, as she sprinted for what felt like her life through the battling teams (Jason's had taken the defense as Reyna sprinted up the hill), Jason on her heels. With a push that felt as if her legs were on fire, Reyna surged for the Camp flag just as Jason dived for her. The flag clutched in her hands, Reyna raised it above her head from the grass where Reyna and Jason were laying, breathing deeply. There was a whoop from Reyna's team as Terminus screeched, "TEAM PRAETOR RAMÍEREZ-ALLERANO WINS!" She didn't even care when Dakota, son of Bacchus, yanked the flag of victory from his Praetor and yelled "Party in the Common!" leading the rest of the Camp to the Common.   
Lying on the grass, Reyna rolled over to face Jason on the grass, grinning back at him. He managed to draw her closer, the legs instantly intertwining as he whispered "Congratulations," She felt herself blushing slightly as she kissed him. They broke away after a few moments, as Leila appeared above them, blushing and blustering, "So sorry, I-I didn't mean to- I just," she went almost scarlet and finally blurted out "We're doing the victory offering now, before things get too wild," Jason smiled as Reyna felt herself blush deeper. "We better get going then," He got up and pulled Reyna up with him.  
Reyna performed the victory offerings to Victoria and Mars and they all went back to the Common so that Dakota could have his party. A few others joined him, despite Reyna's Praeortal warnings of "You better clean this up after! I mean it!" Jason offered his hand to her as Dakota whipped out Kool Aid from seemingly nowhere. She took his hand and felt herself relax instantly. They settled themselves in at the edge of the Common and talked over the day's games – how they could have been more efficient, dream teams, weapon tactics and how the next war games could be better. So felt so at ease talking with Jason, and she could tell he felt the same; his electric blue eyes twinkled whenever she touched his arm, his laugh was uglier with her, but loved it just the same. It was as they were finishing off from where they left off on the field of Mars that Reyna felt they were being watched from someone who wasn't meant to be there. She broke apart from him and glanced around, scanning the partiers. It was just when she was starting to feel she was mistaken when she caught a flickering image to her left: it seemed to be a familiar blonde boy, with startling blue eyes... but it couldn't be. She tried to narrow her eyes but just as the boy had flickered into view, the boy flickered back out of her vision.   
"What's wrong?" Jason asked, but she just stared at him, utterly confused. Shaking her head slightly, "I think I'm just tired," she kissed his cheek and got up, "I'll see you tomorrow," Making her way through the energetic campers, Reyna made her way back to her villa, hand pressed to her forehead.  
It was as stood just before the door to her villa, still trying to shake the image of the flickering blond boy from her head that the flickering caught her eye again. She could be sure of it this time – Jason. But he was wearing an orange t-shirt that tugged at something in the depths of her mind. She made to go towards him, questions in her eyes – she was sure that Jason was still in the Common and he was definitely not wearing an orange t-shirt. A literal chill came over her as he hissed her name before dispersing into thin air.   
Thoroughly confused, and a little freaked out, Reyna composed her exterior and darted back into her villa.


	6. Chapter 6

~~Meanwhile, in the outside the Hypnos Cabin at Camp Half-Blood...~~

"Jason, you can't let Clovis put you under some enchanted sleep!" Piper was frowning at Jason, but he just shook his head at her. "But I can't just leave Reyna under Gaia's influence – Jacob is Iris messaging me as often as he can and she's growing steadily worse as we get closer the 31st,"

"But Gaia could trap you, too! I understand she means a lot to you, but you should be focusing on the giants!" Piper's eyes were pleaful and Jason could almost detect a hint of her charmspeak, but she wouldn't use that on him, surely. But even if she had used charmspeak to try and dissuade him, Jason was sure that he wouldn't be moved by it – no matter the risk to his own life, Jason just had to at least try and save Reyna. How could he just sit and wait when there was a way that he could get to her – maybe even save her.

Piper looked defiantly up at him, but when she saw the indefinitely decided look in his eyes, she sighed and shook her head, "Just don't die," she mumbled before walking away.

With that sorted, Jason set his shoulders back and walked to Cabin #15; Clovis met him at the door and nodded to him solemnly. The doughy boy offered him a lower bed and Jason laid back on it, his mind firmly focused on at least seeing Reyna.

"Close your eyes, and lie still. Focus your mind wholly on Reyna and your Roman Camp," breathed Clovis; Jason did as he was told and breathed in sharply as after a moment of Clovis's murmuring, everything was encompassed in a brilliantly white light. Scrunching his eyes closed, Jason focused everything he had on Reyna and Camp Jupiter. He recalled memories of meditating in the Garden of Bacchus, dueling in gladiator war games, the feeling of becoming Praetor with his best friend, the fierce pride he felt when he got his first tattoo alongside Reyna and—

The white light cleared with a high pitched pop! and Camp Jupiter's familiar San Francisco sky made Jason's heart warm. It swelled even more when his vision adjusted and his ears became attuned and honed in on the familiar Camper whoops – there must have been a war game. Jason recognised Dakota's voice above the other's, doing an impression of Oprah, shrieking "You get some Kool Aid! And YOU get some Kool Aid! EVERYBODY GETS SOME KOOL AID!" Not being able to help but grin, Jason followed the crowd from the Field of Mars and kept his eye out for Reyna, who mustn't be far behind. Just as he thought he had caught sight of her, the blinding white light poked through Jason's vision. Panicking slightly, Jason just thought once more of Reyna, and his happy memories at Camp Jupiter.

Slowly, the Roman Camp came back into view and Jason was careful not to let his mind wander from the thought of his best friend. But the setting was different now: the party seemed to be in full swing, but he ignored the hyper Campers and scoured the crowd for the familiar soft black plait and purple cloak.

There she was. He was willing her so hard to look to the left when he saw that she was in a tight embrace with a blond boy. She looked up at him just as a mixture of feelings boiled up inside of him; confusion, as to why Reyna was snogging someone in view of the whole camp, irritation as to who this blond guy with Reyna was and branching from that irritation was jealousy. It was these feelings that seemed to re-trigger the white light, but Jason knew now to concentrate.

It was quite a while before he heard the pop! and the scene had changed once more. He waited a second, for everything to come back into focus and she was there again, staring at him, alone. Heart leaping, he whispered her name, hoping he could talk to her before the white light dissolved the image once more.

 

Piper was skimming stones across the lake, the to stop her mind from wandering to Jason's plight for Reyna. But she couldn't help to think if Jason would go through all of this if she was in Reyna's place. She was Jason's girlfriend after all.

Or... was she really? Piper had never found out if anything had happened between Reyna and Jason whilst he was Praetor (or whatever) at his old camp with her. And they hadn't officially labeled their relationship...

Piper could see where her thoughts were going, and she tried to suppress them but... What if she and Reyna were both in a fatal sleep... who would Jason save? Violently shaking her head, trying to clear her head of these poisonous thoughts a new, quiet thought weaseled its way into her head: if Jason was this devoted to Reyna – a possible ex fling – then maybe, just maybe, she would have to let Jason go. She couldn't get the idea out of her head that her and Jason's relationship was founded on false memories Hera had put in her head. They hadn't been spending as much time with each other, either. She was a daughter of Aphrodite and she couldn't deny that she felt the emotion Jason harboured for Reyna. Standing, Piper ran her hands nervously through her hair and went off to take her frustration and confusion out on scarecrows.

 

 

"Jason?" Clovis's usually sleepy voice was alert and definitely awake. Feeling groggy, Jason tried to sit up and vomit promptly rose to his throat. There was a bucket thrust in front of his face and he vomited into the bucket. "I-I have to go back – I saw her!" He whispered, his brain thumping inside his skull.

A hand to his forehead, Jason closed his eyes and a female voice echoed inside his head;

"Do not try and penetrate Reyna's sleep again. You have been warned."

Jason instantly knew that Gaia had spoken to him. He felt that he should heed her warning, but he had seen her! He couldn't give up on Reyna now. His mind set, Jason decided he would wake Reyna up, even if the Earth Mother swallowed him up – if he woke her up, any suffering Gaia inflicted on him would be worth it.


	7. Chapter 7

Reyna rose much earlier than usual on the morning of 31st of October and her uneasy feeling was back. Ever since she had seen the flickering clone of Jason, her uneasy feeling from a couple days before had increased. She sat up in her bed for a second, frowning before deciding to go for an early morning run, to try and clear herself of the feeling that something vehemently wrong was on the horizon.   
A thin mist blanketed the empty Camp as Reyna ran. She usually didn't run with music – she liked to be aware of her surroundings, so that no one could surprise her. She also felt that music disturbed the nature around her, when she ran, Reyna ran with just herself and the world around her – no interference.  
Until the ground trembled.  
Reyna almost fell over from the shock of the physical ground moving beneath her feet. Scowling at the ground, Reyna found herself sprinting to the Common where she had seen the flickering holograph of her boyfriend. She stood exactly where she had seen him stand, thinking hard when the ground shook again. This time she actually fell over from the sudden movement of the earth. She hit the back of her head as fell and winced a little, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment. A brilliant white light almost seared her eyes but she felt instantly better, as if her head coming into contact with the hard earth had been good for her, rather than make her feel a little sick.  
An earthy green flashed for a moment in the pair of blue eyes that were gazing down at her. Everything was in sharper focus – she was suddenly full of a happy, manic energy; she smiled widely and offered her hands to Jason, so that he could pull her up. He did pull her up to standing and she jumped up, kissing his nose and taking his hand, "Let's go and get some breakfast!" He smiled back at her and let her lead him to the dining pavilion where there was frantic chatter about the evening's festivities. "Hey, why don't we grab some breakfast in New Rome instead? Just the two of us," He pressed his forehead to hers and she kissed his nose again in agreement.

They sat outside in the chilly morning air, but Reyna was full of warmth and not just from her hot chocolate. "So, what costume are you going to wear tonight?" Jason seemed to stand out brighter than usual, the straight lines of his face more chiseled than she remembered them being yesterday. His blonde hair was a pale golden in the dreary sunlight; his skin was devoid of imperfection, even the scar on his lip was faded – it was like someone had airbrushed him to be even more perfect. A little nagging feeling looked for a foothold in Reyna, but the warmth brushed it aside. "So, are you going to dress up?"

Smiling, she shrugged, "Might as well, you?"

"Of course! Can't let the side down," He grinned.  
The Praetors lapsed into playful conversation, taking their time on the walk back to Camp. It was odd – they'd had Camp socials before, but the air was like this was building up to something more exciting than before, something important. It was like they were preparing for war, the amount of feverish excitement was running through the campers. But still, Reyna felt oddly relaxed, as if she was taking a back seat in her actions – it made a small part of her uneasy.

 

Jason stopped Michael Kahale, who seemed to be chief organizer of the Camp's All Hallows Eve bash, and asked if they could help. He then set Jason to fetching and stacking refreshments and Reyna to—

Reyna was walking up the steps to the pavilion, lifting up her Greek chiton as to not drag the hem of her Megara costume (if the film wasn't going to be accurate, she thought her costume might as well be). It was odd - she didn't remember the time between the son of Venus setting Jason to a little labour work and her walking up the steps. She didn't even know she'd had a costume ready and made. A rising panic started to flood Reyna, but it settled, replaced by a warm, sleepy feeling came over her, and a gentle, yet menacing voice filled her up instead, "Not long now, my child."   
It was in a sleep-like state that she finally entered the pavilion. Someone handed her a drink and she was now laughing with Dokata and a small group of other campers. She wasn't even aware that someone was trying to get her attention until she turned around. Her vision tunneled so she could only see and hear him. He was more perfect than that morning: his eyes were the electric myriad shades of the earth that made her shiver; he was gloriously tanned under the armour of his costume, and his muscles were more pronounced in a way that would make any girl swoon; his teeth were white under scarless lips. It was this that pulled Reyna out of her sleep walking state. Her eyes grew wide as he pressed his lips to hers and the voice from before spoke again, more menacing than she remembered, "Just a little longer, just a little longer now until you're mine..."

With these words, she felt once more at ease as Jason took the white flower from his breastplate and offered it to her. She let out an actual giggle as she was forced back to her dream-like state and looked at the flower he offered her. Barely bothering to push aside the blush that was creeping up into her cheeks, Reyna raised an eyebrow, "Is that for me?"   
His smile never wavered, "I do believe so. As we have watched that 'adaption' so many times, I can't help but to remember that Hercules gives Meg a white flower, just like the one I am attempting to give you." He thrusted the flower towards her once more. Feigning reluctance, she took the flower, murmuring "Thank you," through her smile. Tucking the flower behind her ear, she looked up once more into the son of Jupiter's eyes - Megara's Hercules. Reyna's Jason.

"We'll just leave you two alone then," The group of Campers that she had been talking with before smirked and dispersed, almost literally it seemed.

There was an awkward silence. "Want to go outside, see the fireworks clearer?" Jason proposed. Reyna couldn't see any problems with that - the heat and crowdedness of the pavilion was starting to cloud her judgment.   
The two found themselves alone, in a secluded corner of the party and their lips found each other's as they had done before. Their kisses usually made her feel alive, like a lit firework ready to go off, but tonight she felt sleepy and a deep, unsettling calm.

With a belly full of ambrosia and heart full of determination, Jason laid back down in the Hypnos Cabin at CHB. Clovis was on edge as he began murmuring different incantations, for extra protection, and Piper was lurking in the doorway. He knew how much she resented his doing this, but he also knew that she understood what he had to do - at least he hoped she did. But at the moment, Jason didn't care what she thought – he was fully focused on Reyna.

"You are playing a dangerous game, boy." A sleepy voice trembled, trying to break his thought pattern.

The white light this time was searing, making it difficult to open his eyes or see anything and when the high pitch pop! went off it rung through his head, painfully.   
He stumbled onto the scene and fell – the ringing in his head seemed to be cracking a hole in his skull but he had to find Reyna. Running through the Camp, he caught sight of the swish of Reyna's dark hair, but Campers seemed to materialize in front of him as he tried to find her. "Reyna!" He called desperately and she turned around, her eyes flashing earthy green.  
A renewed energy filled him and he fought forwards, finally catching up to her and stopped dead. Reyna was once again with that blond guy wrapped in a tight embrace – rage broiled inside him. He felt all of his father's thunder and power rage through him in that moment and he was ready to use it.  
Just as he felt the electricity licking at his fingertips, Reyna looked up from her Herculean-clad suitor. Her eyes widened – confusion was evident in her being. She pushed the blond boy aside to stand up, eyes locked on Jason. But she was moving sluggishly, as if she was half asleep and her eyes were fuzzy – Gaia must have a strong hold on her.

The other blond boy murmured something to Reyna, "Come on, get away from him, Reyna,", before also standing. Now that Jason could see who Reyna's blond fantasy was he also became rather confused. Jason was looking at himself, but this Jason was more polished. His brain couldn't process what he was seeing as the other Jason drew his sword, so he moved his gaze again to Reyna.   
"Rey, you have to wake up. This isn't real – this is a dream and you have to wake up." He grasped her shoulders and she tensed, her eyes flickering to the Other Jason.   
Jason felt his foothold in Reyna's dream begin to slip – this was his last chance to get Reyna back.   
She was still looking back at the Other Jason when he shook Reyna roughly, "Listen to me!" He shouted; her gaze slowly returned to him. "This is a dream created by Gaia – it's all a dream! You have to come with me now, you have to wake up or we'll lose you forever!" His voice softened slightly, but the urgency and desperation was still there, "I can't lose you again, Reyna. I-I can't." He stammered.

She regarded him like she should know him, but Jason was terrified that she wouldn't wake up with him as he was pulled from her dream.


	8. Chapter 8

It was like getting the feeling back in your toes but slower. Painfully slow. But when she had set eyes on Jason - her Jason, not Gaia's – she took the front seat in her actions once more and screamed.

***

"She'd been thrashing for hours, and her nose hasn't stopped bleeding since yesterday,"  
Jason nodded solemnly and set his eyes on the now deathly-still form of Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano. He took her cold hand in his warm one and gently placed a kiss in her palm. Jason refused to accept that she wouldn't wake up – his Reyna would never do that to him, or the Camp.

He was half way through a prayer when she screamed. It was long and piercing – full of pain. A second, angry scream joined Reyna's and a green mist rose from her, like it was being expelled from Reyna as she screamed. On and on it went until it just –

Reyna's eyes flew open but they weren't the steady dark eyes he knew – they glowed bright green for a few seconds before returning to normal.

Reyna gasped for breath and coughed, spitting blood. She looked around, letting her eyes adjust as people called her name. "Jason?" Her voice was a hoarse croak as her eyes finally met his. A wave of panic hit her – was it really him? But she saw the sky blue – not Gaia's earth green – and felt herself calm. He fought his way past the small crowd of Campers and to her bedside. He hugged her tightly to him, not caring about the tears that were spilling from his eyes, mixing with the tears that poured from Reyna's eyes.

Piper kind of regretted making Jason let her join him at Camp Jupiter. She felt such an outsider – the Romans were polite, but avoided her. Everyone was in or around Reyna's Praeortal villa, but Piper had situated herself away from the 'Jeyna' reunion. She didn't want to take this away from either of them and it would be awkward as she wasn't even that close with Reyna – not that she didn't like her. What Piper didn't like was what she felt between Jason and Reyna. What she felt between them was almost like what Percy and Annabeth had – nothing like what there was between Jason and herself. What she and Jason 'had' was based off of a dream put in her head by a desperation-driven goddess. But Jason and Reyna...

It's for the best, she thought. When she searched deep down, Piper found that she didn't truly love Jason romantically, either. The daughter of Aphrodite smiled sadly and went to head back to Camp Half-Blood, alone.


	9. extra chapter

Reyna was glad Jason was sleeping in her bed tonight. Every demi-god got horribly vivid nightmares, but since had woken up for her Gaia-induced-coma sleeping soundly had become impossible. But having Jason with her made the nights easier.

"Two hot chocolates please,"   
Jason handed Reyna her hot chocolate, with marshmallows and sprinkles of cinnamon. She usually disproved of such things, but she was grateful for the gesture of Jason's behalf. (She was also grateful for the extra sugar, as the ambrosia hadn't been doing much for her.)   
"So," Jason started.   
"So," Reyna sighed in reply.  
"I just have to ask, what was up in that dream of yours?"  
Reyna sighed again, grimacing. "It was just a dream – it doesn't matter,"   
Jason didn't want to pry but he couldn't help raising an eyebrow at her nonetheless. "How much did you see, anyway?" Reyna tried not to cringe at her own question. "Just you and a dream version of myself," Here Reyna actually shuddered. "Please don't think any lower of me. It was silly and immature – a creation of Gaia,"   
"So your feelings for me are a creation of Gaia?" Jason wasn't looking directly at her, for which she was quite grateful as she had gone a bit red.  
"My feelings for you don't matter," She paused, debating whether to go on. "As I said, it was just a dream – nothing of importance,"

"Dreams are based off of things we've felt or seen before, y'know," Jason murmured.  
She shook her head, running a finger over the brim of her mug. "You have Piper, anyway."  
Still not looking at her, Jason shook his head slightly. "Piper and I aren't a thing. I don't think we ever were, to be frank. I do love her, don't get me wrong, but not like that." There was a pregnant pause. "I think I've only ever felt like that for one."   
Reyna sipped at her hot chocolate.   
"Ah, anyway. I-I've really missed this, you know – us. I mean us hanging out," She hid her smile at Jason's flustering.

"I've always thought we could have taken on the world before the disappearance incident," Reyna piped up.  
"Yeah – we could've had it all," Jason smiled a small smile, reminiscing.

"Who says we can't?" Reyna breathed, bringing her dark eyes to meet his blue ones.

To every shade there were ten more shades abaft it, and Jason's eyes were the perfect kind of electric blue for him. Striking yet soft. Not the electric shock that paralyzed you or crawled under your muscles, but the kind that made your blood dance.

Jason reached across the table and took her hand. Reyna smiled and laced her fingers with his.

Jason's Reyna. Reyna's Jason.

Together at last.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading!♡♡


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